We often hear the question asked, when do you know you are rich? We have all had the experience where we have been told we are rich and we wonder about that. We may even wonder ourselves.

One indicator of being wealthy is when you require the assistance of wealth experts like these financial advisors carlsbad, ca, to manage your finances. You may realize you’re affluent when you have more possessions, money, and assets than you ever imagined. However, understanding the truth about your wealth status requires introspection. Here are some clues to help you determine if you’re rich:

When you go on first dates, find out what their wealth level is. If they can’t answer your questions without you finding out about it, then they aren’t really rich. Just because someone’s father was rich during a time period doesn’t make them wealthy during those years.

When you meet other rich people, find out as much about their past as possible. When we meet someone and we get instant information about them, we make assumptions about their life. We see things we don’t necessarily see in everyday life. This is one of the ways we can determine whether or not they are really rich.

Do you know how to read the papers and listen to the radio? Many of us listen to these things daily. We are constantly bombarded by advertisements. We get to see the latest in the industries, in politics, and in every other aspect of our lives. All of these things contribute to what the media portrays as reality. We have all seen the amazing pictures of millionaires and have questioned ourselves on how we would be able to afford all of that.

The next question that you need to answer is: when do you know you are rich? When do you recognize the lifestyle choices that you have made that have led you to the lifestyle you are in now? The most important thing to do is make a decision to change those patterns. If you continue down the same path, you won’t see any changes in your life.

One sign that you may be rich is when you no longer need to check price tags before making purchases. You feel comfortable buying things without worrying about the cost. For example, you may search online for “Massage Spa near me” and immediately book an appointment at a high-end spa without thinking twice.

Other luxuries that come with wealth include being able to indulge in expensive hobbies on a whim, fly first class without planning ahead to save up money and renovate or redecorate your home by hiring the best interior designers and contractors. You don’t pinch pennies or hesitate before enjoying finer things. The ability to spend freely and abundantly without financial constraints is a hallmark of being rich.

The key is recognizing not just the material signs of wealth, but the freedom it grants you – freedom from worry, limitations, financial calculations or tradeoffs. When your lifestyle feels unrestrained and you no longer relate to the financial pressures most people face, that inner sense of abundance is a clear indicator you have attained true riches.

Christmas trading has sparkled into life on the high street with retailers reporting frantic Sunday shopping after a better-than expected Boxing Day, with suggestions that shoppers had been browsing for bargains in their pyjamas before heading to the shops.

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With the right guidance and support, now is a great time to invest in a holiday home in Germany.

If you’ve always dreamed of making a second income from a holiday home, here are four tips to make yours pay.

Know Your Target Audience

It is wise to have a target audience in mind when searching for the perfect holiday home in Germany. If you plan to rent your holiday home to families, students or couples this should be determined before you begin house hunting. Successfully renting out your holiday home requires you to tailor your property to a particular target audience and choosing an appropriate location is all part and parcel of this. Rather than making your home appeal to everyone, target a particular niche right from the start. For example, if you plan to market your holiday home to families or elderly tenants, steer clear of steep staircases and other aspects that could be hazardous.

Do The Maths

Before you commit to purchasing a holiday home in Germany, do your homework. There are many hidden costs that you should take into account before you buy. Property maintenance, home improvements, council tax and legal fees can all add up. Factoring in all of these costs can help you to work out the return on investment and don’t forget to be realistic in that the property may not be rented out all of the time. By law in Germany every house over 25 years old requires a new roof, a new heating system and new windows and you should also be aware that fees are higher than that of the UK. You can expect to spend 12% of the house price on fees.

Know The Pitfalls

Buying a property in Germany can be profitable but it is important to consider potential pitfalls before you invest. Germany attracts a lot of buy-to-let investors as over 50% of the country choose to rent rather than buying a house so you should be prepared to make a long-term investment. If you choose to sell the property in less that 10 years, you will have to pay 15% capital gains tax.

Furnishing Your Holiday Home

It can be tempting to furnish your holiday home with hand-me-down pieces of furniture in order to keep costs low. However, threadbare sofas aren’t going to attract many holidaymakers so you should take care and attention when picking out your furnishings. If you want to attract families, create a child-friendly environment with stair gates, cots and a high chair. If you are attracting elite holidaymakers, add luxury touches such as plush bathrobes, toiletries in the bathrooms and Egyptian cotton sheets.

So, there you have it, buying a holiday home in Germany can be lucrative as long as you are aware of the possible pitfalls involved.

Finding cheap Odeon cinema tickets isn’t easy, unless you know where to look. From special offers, deals and Odeon promo codes, I’ve found cinema tickets for less.

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It’s the 17 September, still a week away from pay day and all you have left is £6.20 to your name. In the cupboard there is only enough food to feed your family for three days and on top of this your one year old only has four nappies left.

This is the situation we found ourselves this month. We knew it would be tight financially, it always is, but this month was worse than others. Normally, a week before pay day we at least have enough food to last even if there isn’t any money left.

This time is was different.

We were literally surviving on the breadline.

When you’re faced with a situation like that, what is the first thing you do? Well the first thing we did was panic, then cry, then panic again.

For the first time in a long time we had gotten ourselves into a situation that I was unsure how to get out of. We’d always struggled financially but never to this extent.

The good news (if you can call it that) is we did make it through to pay day, we did survive.

Surviving on the breadline

First of all we needed to set some priorities. There was us, our nine year old daughter Daniella and our one year old daughter Chloe. We needed to eat and Chloe needed nappies.

These is what we wrote down on a scrap of paper in order of importance:

1. Feeding the children

2. Nappies for youngest

3. Feeding mum and dad

Next we went to the kitchen and made a list of all the food we had in the cupboards, fridge and freezer. It wasn’t a great deal but more than we presumed.

We worked out that with the food we had in the house, if we were careful, we could feed the children breakfast, lunch and dinner for four days. This would mean me and Skint Mum missing out on “proper” dinner a couple of times but we were OK with that.

So that left us with three days’ worth of food to purchase and sort out nappies. It was getting late and we were both emotionally shattered so we went to bed.

I didn’t sleep much that night. It was 2 am when I last looked at the time. Lots of things going through my mind. I felt like I’d let my family down by getting into this situation. I kept having flashbacks about bills coming through the door, creditors ringing demanding money, and me having to borrow from anywhere and anyone just to keep our head afloat.
I had let them down.

The next morning Skint Mum left for work and Daniella left for school, leaving me and Chloe to go to the shops and try to make our £6.20 stretch as far as possible.

The first item I looked at was nappies. We normally bought Pampers but I obviously couldn’t afford them so I grabbed the cheapest ones I could find. It was the shops own brand, 20 nappies for £1.41. I was concerned about the quality but what else could I do?
Next on to the food. I had just under a fiver left so I headed straight for the pasta which I knew would be reasonably cheap. Grabbing three bags of basic shapes for 29p per 500g I started to think we could do this.

Pasta sauce next, two jars for 39p per 440g and I could split the jars if I had to. I then headed to the frozen aisle where I picked up twenty frozen sausages for 91p and a 1kg bag of frozen mixed veg for 75p.

That left me £1.48 which I used to buy two tins of new potatoes for 15p each, two tins of beans for 25p each and six bananas.

When I arrived home I put the kettle on, sat Chloe in the lounge, laid all the food we had and what I had bought onto the kitchen side. We had done it. We had enough food to last until more money came in the following week.

OK, I’ll admit, the food we had wasn’t the most nutritious also there wasn’t really any variety but at least we could eat. At least when I put my children to bed every night I knew they had a full belly.

::

Today is pay day and it all starts again. After all the bills are paid we don’t have much left. The last week has really opened my eyes to how close we actually are to the breadline every single month.

I’ve realised we cannot carry on living pay check to pay check because it’s not living is it? It’s surviving.

Starting from this month, Skint Mum and I are going make some changes. We are going to stop surviving and start believing. Believing that we don’t have to live like this. Believing that we can make a better life for our family.
I don’t want to live in poverty. I don’t want my children to grow up thinking this is normal.

We want a better life and I’m going to use everything I have to achieve it.

Do you struggle to make ends meet? What have you done to change this? What advice can you give for us not to be in the same situation next month?

Bargain hunters were muscled out of the way at an annual charity shop sale by second-hand dealers desperate to get their hands on cut-price items.

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